Guides A-Z

Guide describing the installation of gutters, downspouts, and alternate options for managing rainwater run-off from roofs.

Guide describing the advantages and disadvantages of gable roofs and hip roofs and how both designs react under high wind loads.

Guide describing how to brace gable end walls to resist wind pressures.

A guide describing how to install low-sloped ("flat") roofs with insulation above the roof deck that resist wind pressures during high-wind events.

Guide describing how to construct homes and decks to manage heavy snow loads in winter weather.

Guide discussing disaster resistance related to metal roofing when installing roofing on new construction or when repairing or replacing roofing on existing homes.

Guide describing how to provide a continuous load path with appropriate connectors to improve the wind resistance of attached porches, carports, and decks during high-wind events.

Guide describing ways to retrofit an existing roof to increase its resistance to damage during hurricanes, high winds, and earthquakes.

Guide describing how to upgrade walls that separate the garage from the house by providing a continuous air control layer on the garage side of the wall and adding rigid foam insulation.

A guide for choosing, installing, and flashing roof anchoring systems for solar panels.

Guide describing requirements for sheathing and sealing the roof decking in accordance with the requirements of the IBHS Fortified Home Program's Hurricane and High Wind Standards, and other roofing considerations to increase the roof's disaster resistance.

Guide describing how to apply heavy membranes at eaves in cold climates to help guard against ice dams.

Guide describing designs and construction retrofits for roof assemblies to resist pressures at roof edges during high-wind events.

Guide describing options for providing access to the roof via openable skylights, dormer windows, or roof hatches, for occupants of homes in areas prone to severe flooding.

Guide describing how to seal roof valleys and how to seal around pipes, chimneys, and other roof deck penetrations.

Guide outlining how to retrofit an exterior wall and/or attic to provide continuous air sealing.

Guide describing insulation techniques for skylight shaft walls.

This guide describes procedures for assessing feasibility of solar resources, and designating location of propolsed PV arrays and solar thermal panels.

Guide describing how to install step and kick-out flashing on roofs.

Guide describing methods for insulating an unvented attic along the roof line.

Guide describing a method for insulating an unvented attic by spraying foam insulation along the underside of the roof deck.

Guide describing construction of sloped roofs that are unvented and are insulated above the roof deck.

Guide describing options for designing and locating the thermal boundary at either the attic floor or along the roof line in new and existing homes.